The University of Minnesota barely avoided losing scholarships in football this year, according to the NCAA’s latest Academic Progress Rate report released Wednesday, June 13.

The Gophers finished with a multiyear (2007-11) APR score of 932, two points above the NCAA’s new cutoff line of 930. The minimum multiyear score was 925 last year. Programs that fall below the cutoff line can receive scholarship reductions and be barred from participation in the postseason.

In 2009, the Gophers football team’s multiyear APR score of 887 resulted in a loss of three scholarships for former coach Tim Brewster.

The program hasn’t scored that low since. But football’s single-year APR dropped from 925 last year to 917 this year, based on the 2010-11 school year. Second-year football coach Jerry Kill and athletics director Joel Maturi were concerned with the academic performance of several players after Brewster was fired midseason in 2010.

“Unfortunately, when I made the decision not to renew coach Brewster, there were some athletes who didn’t do as well academically as we would have liked,” Maturi said. “There wasn’t a coach who had a hammer over them (to keep players eligible) because there was no head coach at the time.”

Kill said during spring football this year that his team made strides academically. That progress won’t be shown until next year’s APR scores are released, but Maturi said he anticipates the multiyear rate in football to improve significantly.

“I think Jerry Kill has proven if you look at the numbers we’ll be posting from here on in that there’s stability on his part and the McNamara Academic staff’s part,” he said. “We’re going to shoot the roof off of numbers that we’ve had in the past.”

The Gophers men’s basketball team’s APR score this year was 939 — better than the 863 posted last year but not as good as the 981 posted two years ago that was considered “high performing” by the NCAA.

The up-and-down academic performance of the team can be attributed to five of coach Tubby Smith’s players leaving via transfer in two years. Smith lost another player when sophomore Chip Armelin decided to leave after last season. But Maturi said the men’s basketball team would not have to worry about losing scholarships when Armelin’s transfer reduces its APR for next year.

“We’ve had some very highly visible transfers,” Maturi said, referring to Devoe Joseph, Justin Cobbs, Paul Carter, Colton Iverson and Royce White, who left between 2009-11. “They weren’t bad kids. They didn’t flunk out. That wasn’t the issue. They just transferred, and we lost a point. That’s the way the APR system is. Some programs are impacted more by that than others.”

The APR is determined by using the eligibility and retention of athletes on scholarship during an academic year. Athletes are awarded a point for each semester they are enrolled and a point for each semester they are eligible. An athlete can earn up to four points during an academic year. Additional points are not given for athletes who graduate at the end of the semester, though the athlete is awarded a point for retention and a point for eligibility.

According to the latest NCAA report, 20 Minnesota teams recorded single-year APR scores of 973 or better. And 22 of 25 teams scored higher than 965 to rank among the NCAA’s “high-performing” teams. The Gophers posted their highest overall single-year APR ever with a score of 980.36.

Men’s Sports

Multiyear APR/2010-2011 Score

Baseball — 1,000/1,000

Basketball — 954/939

Cross Country — 979/1,000

Football — 932/917

Golf — 976/952

Gymnastics — 991/1,000

Hockey — 984/957

Swimming & Diving — 969/940

Tennis — 991/1,000

Track & Field (indoor) — 981/1,000

Track & Field (outdoor) — 980/1,000

Wrestling — 964/992

Women’s Sports

Basketball –995/1,000

Cross Country — 930/990

Rowing — 984/975

Golf — 979/975

Gymnastics — 1,000/1,000

Hockey — 991/978

Softball — 981/1,000

Soccer — 994/973

Swimming & Diving — 976/993

Tennis — 992/1,000

Track & Field (indoor) — 979/986

Track & Field (outdoor) — 981/986

Volleyball — 974/956

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